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Thai Court Acquits Thaksin Shinawatra in Royal Insult Case

The acquittal eases his immediate legal risk ahead of next week’s court decision on suspended premier Paetongtarn that could upend the Pheu Thai-led government.

A portrait of Thailand's former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra is printed on a T-shirt of a Pheu Thai supporter gathered to show support, on the day of a Thai criminal court's verdict in Shinawatra's lese majeste case, also known as a royal insult case, under Section 112 of Thailand's Criminal Code, stemming from a 2015 interview he gave while in South Korea during his long stint in self-imposed exile, in Bangkok, Thailand, August 22, 2025. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha
Suspended Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra stands next to her sister Pintongtha Kunakornwong as she arrives at the Constitutional Court to testify in a high-profile ethics case, following a leaked phone conversation between her and Cambodia’s former leader Hun Sen, in Bangkok, Thailand, August 21, 2025. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha REFILE - CORRECTING NAME OF SUSPENDED THAI PRIME MINISTER FROM "PINTONGTHA KUNAKORNWONG" TO "PAETONGTARN SHINAWATRA".
Suspended Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra looks on as she arrives at the Constitutional Court to testify in a high-profile ethics case, following a leaked phone conversation between her and Cambodia’s former leader Hun Sen, in Bangkok, Thailand, August 21, 2025. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha
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Overview

  • Bangkok’s criminal court dismissed the lese‑majesté case against Thaksin Shinawatra, with his lawyer saying judges found the evidence insufficient for conviction on charges that carried up to 15 years in prison.
  • UPI reported the court also threw out a related Computer Crime Act charge, noting acquittals in lèse‑majesté cases are uncommon compared with conviction rates.
  • Thaksin still faces a separate Supreme Court review in September on whether his 2023 hospital detention counted as time served, a ruling that could see him returned to prison if deemed noncompliant.
  • Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra remains suspended ahead of an Aug. 29 Constitutional Court ruling on an ethics case tied to a leaked call with Cambodia’s Hun Sen before deadly border clashes that killed more than 40 people and displaced about 300,000.
  • Paetongtarn testified this week under a court-ordered reporting ban on her remarks, as her Pheu Thai-led coalition wobbles in polls and analysts warn adverse rulings could hasten an early election; rights groups say more than 280 people have faced Section 112 prosecutions in five years.